Posted on Friday, October 14, 2011
What a difference a year makes. We are nowhere near the glory days ending in 2007 but the local market shows some signs of new life. To understand the trends let’s skip the hype and go right to the numbers provided in our Coldwell Banker Trend Report this morning – this will us understand the market direction.
Sales Price – up 15%+ for the trailing twelve months. Ok that is great. These price changes differ by market segment so be careful but overall very good. We will see what month end looks like in a couple of weeks.
Sales Volume – dropped 5.2% this last month compared to the same month last year. Ok we need to watch this one. Maybe the price increases are squeezing out volume a bit. With these mortgage rates you would think volume might pick up. It could be the remaining properties for sale are just priced too high. We will see – but declining volume is one strike against the “strengthening market” conclusion.
Sales Price to Listing Price – up 6.2% year to year. Now there is a lot going on in this number but this is a strengthening trend. Sellers are more stingy and buyers are more supportive of the listing price. It could be sellers are more willing to set the listing price lower in the first place, and some of these “listing prices” are actually lowered prices from past expired listings – but still, you have to like the trend.
Inventories – down, and previously reported in the Naples Best Addresses blog. Lower supply means more support for prices. As discussed yesterday the inventory improvement is in the sub $1,000,000 market but the overall trend is still pretty good.
So, three out of four – we need to keep our eye on volume but price, inventory and sales price to listing price all are favorable right now. Let’s see what season brings!
Please remember – beyond the numbers – I love the Naples lifestyle and would live here in any kind of real estate market. The number of outdoor days chasing your pastimes from golf to tennis to fishing to running to long distance cycling – just about anything. And the culture – art, history, lectures, music, plays, dining … and plenty of opportunity at the local level to get involved – the largest Habitat for Humanity organization in the United States, Boys and Girls Club, our wine auction and much more. We will write to this lifestyle in this blog too, because lifestyle (my view) trumps the numbers – even when the numbers are pretty good.
Tell us what you think about real estate trends in Naples, Florida or in your local markets.
Have a great Friday,
Naples Best Addresses
